Press Release from the New York State Senate

SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING
SMOKE-FREE WORK SITES
 

FOR RELEASE:
Wednesday, March 26, 2003

The New York State Senate today passed legislation (S.3292), sponsored by Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R - Merrick), that would prohibit exposure to secondhand smoke through a statewide smoking ban in all places of employment.

"The New York State Senate is taking the necessary steps to protect its residents from the dangers of secondhand smoke because it is an intrusion upon nonsmokers and children's health and well being," Senator Fuschillo said. "While it was originally considered a nuisance that had been dealt with over the years, it is now a known fact that secondhand smoke, consisting of 4,000 chemicals, takes the lives of 65,000 people each year."

"Smoking poses a major health danger to smokers and to non-smokers, causing thousands of deaths every year," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said. "In addition to the toll smoking and secondhand smoke takes on public health, there is a significant economic impact. According to the most recent figures, it's estimated that smoking and secondhand smoke cost New York's health care system $6.4 billion every year, about eight percent of New York's total health care spending. When you factor in non-health related costs, such as lost productivity due to absences caused by smoking related diseases, it costs government and businesses in New York an estimated $5.3 billion a year."

The legislation amends the New York Clean Indoor Act of 1989, by prohibiting smoking in virtually all workplaces and public places, including restaurants, schools, daycare centers, health care facilities, billiard parlors, auditoriums, zoos, theaters, retail stores, public transportation facilities and bars.

The legislation is widely supported by health and business organizations including the Medical Society of the State of New York, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, NYS Nurses Association, NYS Restaurant Association (representing 8,000 restaurant owners), NYPIRG and more.

Exemptions exist for private homes, automobiles, a hotel or motel room, retail tobacco businesses, established cigar bars, outdoor areas of restaurants with no roof, separate enclosed rooms of residential health care and adult facilities, and volunteer organizations without employees such as an American Legion Hall.

The American Heart Association declares secondhand smoke to be the third leading cause of preventable death in this country. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 200 of which are poisons and 43 cause cancer. A recent study showed that even a 30 minute exposure to secondhand smoke decreases the blood flow and increases the likelihood of having a heart attack.

The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a "Group A" carcinogen, a category reserved for the most dangerous cancer-causing chemicals such as arsenic, asbestos, benzene, radon and ten other poisons.

The American Lung Association cites studies that found half of the causes of early childhood asthma are due to secondhand smoke exposure and it causes as many as 1 million asthma attacks in children every year.

The bill was sent to the Assembly.

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